


The Maturin's Time Travel Adventure

by strawberrylace



Category: IT (2017), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-15
Updated: 2018-03-11
Packaged: 2019-03-05 02:15:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,427
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13377981
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/strawberrylace/pseuds/strawberrylace
Summary: Arielle was a normal young woman who was trying to make sense of what she wanted out of her life. When she ends up in Derry, she is transported to 1989 where she meets a band of losers who discover that she is not who she thinks she may be.





	1. The Boy in Yellow

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this inspired by some recurring dreams in which I imagined the Losers Club meet the reincarnation of Maturin and basically she helps them defeat Pennywise. It's an idea I've been trying to tinker with for quite a while now and I hope you all enjoy it!

October was very rainy in Bangor, Maine. It also happened to be to be Arielle’s least favorite time of the year. As soon as the first leaf falls, the humid air of Maine passes through, marking the true end of summer in the Pacific Northwest. 

Arielle woke up Monday morning with a slight hangover, regretting the half bottle of port she finished off. She was almost certain that bottle was no good but rather than waste it, she drank it while watching Hallmark movies. She may have seen these movies five times and the stories were all the same, but watching them was like cuddling up with a warm blanket. But when Arielle woke up this morning, it felt like a cold blanket was wrapped around her shivering body. Getting ready for work was going to be a drag. 

It was so gloomy out that Arielle didn’t bother with opening her blinds. Another rainy day, she thought to herself, dragging herself down to the kitchen. She missed summer so much. Where did it go? It always seemed to slip away quicker each year. Arielle missed the summers of her youth where she would go down to the local pool, go biking around town, and trips to Acadia National Park. The moment she grew up, the summers of fun were gone. Now that she was working, all it took was a blink and the rain and cold soon took over. 

Arielle was greeted by her aunt sitting at the kitchen table, stirring her sugar into her coffee. She was wrapped up in her fuzzy pink robe, her long brown hair in a wet braid. Her warm, golden brown eyes met with Arielle’s as she watched her niece fix up a bowl of oatmeal. 

“Is the car filled with gas?” Aunt Jodie asked. 

“Kathleen filled it up for me on Saturday,” Arielle replied. “Should be full unless she went somewhere she didn’t want us to know about.” 

“Like a boy’s place?”

Arielle narrowed her eyes at her aunt. “Something along those lines.” 

“It’s supposed to come down all day today,” Jodie sighed. “Just want to be sure you don’t get stuck with little gas coming to and from work is all.” 

“I know Jodie. I’m pretty sure that will be my assignment for the noon news. Rain, such breaking news.” 

Jodie looked on at her favorite niece as she ate her oatmeal in silence. She was aware of how demanding Arielle’s job can be at the local television station, especially when she had to go on location in such crappy weather. Going on location was sometimes her least favorite part of the job when it came to the weather. But Arielle assured her aunt that this experience was worth it to work for a small market. 

“At least you have a job you like,” Jodie said with a smile. “Just remember that.” 

“Right,” Arielle said quietly. “I should be able to pick up Kathleen from volleyball practice tonight. We got a new camera op that’ll be working full time so I won’t have to do the 5P News.” 

“It’s about time they finally hired another camera person. Just text your cousin if something comes up.” 

The drive to work was 12 minutes to the television station. Arielle had been working at WVOI, the ABC affiliate in Bangor, as a camera operator for nearly two years. It was not the most glamorous job in television but it made her happy for the time being. She had dreams of being a filmmaker but once she graduated college, she struggled to put her foot through the door, working on various projects as a production assistant on commercials throughout the greater Portland area. After two years, she moved onto camera work and got a steady job working at WVOI. She was okay with where she was at now, but deep down, Arielle knew that she still wanted to pursue her true passion. 

Arielle swiped her key card through the sliding doors went through the long and winding hallway that lead her to the control room. It was 6 o’clock sharp by the time she arrived and her headache was going away slowly the more she got to moving. The early morning news was well underway when Arielle came in, with everyone behind the scenes manning the control panels while she watched the cameramen focus in on the news anchors for every shot. It wasn’t so much about the finished product for her but how the shot was captured that drew Arielle to be a camera operator. She could find a way to get a good angle and capture the perfect shot that made her good at her job. Most importantly, she had a reporter that she was the perfect match for, in more ways than one. 

“Arielle!” 

Just then, a statuesque young woman with bouncing brown curls and glowing skin came through the door holding two cups of coffee. Roxy Andrews was a bright and lively reporter with a thirst for the big scoop. The two had been working together for two years, hired on at the same time. When they started at WVOI, both were assigned to work the late news. It wasn’t the most ideal time slot for either of them but they realized that they needed to stick together to make it through those late nights. Through late night edits and drives to the only open McDonald’s after work, Roxy and Arielle formed a close, tight knit bond. Arielle never met someone so brilliant and warm and beautiful. She fell hard and fast for the young reporter from Oakland. The feeling was mutual and after a year working together, the two moved to covering fluff pieces on the noon news and began to date. It was nine months of happiness and bliss…until the night Roxy came over to her house and announced things weren’t working out. 

Arielle didn’t know where she went wrong. Roxy and she were happy together. Arielle thought she was doing everything right in their relationship, but somehow Roxy wasn’t happy. She made it clear that night that she wasn’t happy, and it was eating her from the inside, keeping it to herself. Roxy was a ball of emotions telling Arielle how sorry she was that she didn’t love her anymore. Roxy never gave a reason. It was something that Arielle couldn’t figure out, something she was afraid to find out. After the breakup, things at work were awkward for them. Roxy filled in for the early news anchor for a couple of weeks while Arielle helped train the new camera op. It wasn’t until recently that they could be in the same room together and even then, Arielle could sense that not all was going to end well. 

“You’re in early!” Roxy smiled, handing Arielle a coffee. “I got your favorite, white chocolate mocha!” 

“Someone’s bright eyed and bushy tailed,” Arielle said with suspicion, taking a sip of her mocha. “Did boss man finally check out that 100th anniversary of the local library story you’ve been working on?” 

“He hasn’t seen it yet. Justin said he wanted to meet with us when we got in the office.” 

Arielle burned the tip of her tongue as she swallowed the hot coffee that went down. “Shoot, are we in trouble?” 

Roxy smirked. “Unless there’s a crime you want to confess, I can assure you that we have nothing to worry about.” 

Justin Thurgood was often times a frightening man based on appearances alone. The first time Arielle met him, she was intimidated by his large stature and his long and unruly blonde hair. It would’ve suggested that he was secretly a mad man but once he spoke, it was as if it was night and day. Justin was a kind man who happened to be very intimidating for many. Their working relationship was very civil and professional but even after two years, Arielle still felt just a tiny bit afraid of him. 

Today was no different as she and Roxy found themselves in his office for something very important he wanted to talk to them about. He was reclined in his chair, scrolling through his desktop as the two women walked into his office. He looked up at them for a moment and then back at the screen. 

“Ladies, have a seat,” he said to them. 

Justin looked back up at the ladies, sitting up right as Roxy and Arielle sat down. 

“Marcy called in sick today,” he said gruffly. “Didn’t sound at all sick but that’s not the time to have this discussion.” 

Roxy rolled her eyes. Marcy Waverly had been with the station for almost four years. She wasn’t the brightest reporter but she was certainly a sight for sore eyes. Of late, she had been partying more and her career was now skating on thin ice. This was the third time in two weeks she had called in “sick.” 

“Anyway, I want you both to go out to Derry today. There’s been a body that was found of a missing child. Parents reported their seven-year-old daughter Stacy Gould had been missing for 10 days and this morning part of her body was found…” 

Roxy gasped while Arielle’s eyes widened, their stomachs turning. 

“In the forest,” Justin finished. “A jogger found a limb in the forest just over by the quarry. Looked like it was ripped off. Body found in the quarry not long after by the police. The whole thing, it’s tragic really. I haven’t heard of anything so horrific in the twenty years I’ve been working at this station. Anyway, I’m going to need you two to go out there today. Talk to the neighbors of the parents, what they have to say. If you’re able to talk to police, even better. Not sure how that town is doing…” 

“I’m sure people have their suspicions,” said Roxy. “Small town where everyone knows everything. People will talk.” 

“Can you guys get ready to go down to Derry in the next twenty minutes? I need people who give a shit about their jobs covering this story and since I only see two people in front of me, you better deliver.”

Arielle swallowed the lump in her throat that had been building up since Justin asked her and Roxy into his office. 

“Of course,” said Roxy calmly. “We’re on this.” 

Justin nodded silently. “Good. I don’t want to ask anyone else, honestly. Get everything ready. Arielle, can you handle driving the car? More importantly, do you know how to get there?” 

Arielle sighed. “Yeah, shouldn’t be a problem.” 

“Good, alright then. We’re done.” 

 

The WVOI van had seen better days. The clunky white van was 14-years-old that was covered in dents all around the sides of the vehicle and needed to be started twice before anyone could get it to move. It moved at the pace of a snail and was a major gas guzzler. Anyone who had to drive this van around was better off driving their own car instead. However, the station needed to make this van last until it gave up its last dying breath, so it stuck around four years longer than it should’ve. 

“You think Justin would mind if we ran this van onto the side of the road by accident?” Roxy asked, slamming the door shut. “You know, put it out of it’s misery?” 

“I’d say you be taking a huge cut from your check to buy a new van for the station,” said Arielle, backing the car out of the station parking lot. 

“Has anyone eve r thought of just asking him if we could get the van replaced? One of these days, some poor camera man is gonna be driving to cover a story for the 10p news and then suddenly, boom! Van breaks down and the story is lost.” 

Arielle snorted. “It’s not so much Justin’s call. It’s the station owner who would have to sign off on such an expense. Besides, the van isn’t all that bad.” 

Roxy pursed her lips and sighed. “I got a call from the ABC affiliate in Buffalo the other day.” 

Arielle blinked. “Oh?”

“I’ve been sending my tapes to a couple of east coast stations. But Buffalo wants me to offer me a position as a morning anchor. Arielle, I think I’m going to accept it.” 

Arielle was silent. She knew that Roxy wanted to do morning news but the opportunities for her WVOI were limited and Roxy wasn’t going to wait forever. They both had talked about leaving WVOI to pursue their dreams, but Arielle didn’t think that Roxy would do it without her. At least, this was before they had broken up. 

“That’s wonderful,” Arielle said quietly. 

“Arielle, don’t do that,” said Roxy crossly. “Don’t make me feel guilty about leaving you. You know I’ve wanted this.” 

“You couldn’t have waited just a little longer?” 

“Until when? The station finally replaces this crappy van? When Justin gets his head out of his ass and fires Marcy? Arielle, you and I both know we can’t stay here forever. I figured you would be happy for me…” 

“We could’ve gone to Buffalo…” 

Roxy looked at Arielle and shook her head. “But what would you do? You can’t just come with me if you’re not going to support yourself.”

Arielle was listening but kept her eyes on the road, not looking back at Roxy.   
“You want to know why I came over that night?” 

“Not really,” said Arielle truthfully. They had just passed the ‘Welcome to Derry’ sign. 

“You settle for whatever comes your way. Arielle, when we met, you said you were going to quit your job in a year and make that movie you’ve been working on. You’re still here and you’re miserable but you can’t bring yourself to get out of this town! I can’t bear to see you waste your time just doing everything Justin tells you, working with crappy reporters, and just…settling. I just couldn’t be with someone who was going to settle anymore.” 

It felt like Arielle had been punched in the stomach. She wanted to get out of the car and roll herself out on the road, but that wasn’t going to happen for she was driving. She took one quick look at Roxy and saw that she was visibly upset. She said nothing else and Arielle continued to drive. 

Derry looked rather gloomy when they arrived on the scene. Although it had stopped raining once they had arrived, Arielle wanted to cover up the camera just in case it started to rain again. She looked around at the forest. For some reason, she couldn’t help but feel a bit uneasy walking through the woods towards the Quarry. Was it because of the sadness she felt for this little girl? Arielle was feeling that shouldn’t be here in the first place, something felt off. 

When they reached the quarry, there were two policemen out on the scene, investigating the surrounding woods, blocked off by yellow tape. One of the officers saw the two young women try to go through the tape before the policeman stopped them from going any further. 

“Ladies,” he approached them. “This is a crime scene and I cannot let you two come any further.” 

Arielle backed off, stepping over the tape, while Roxy stayed put with her microphone in hand. 

“Oh, sir, it’s quite alright,” Roxy tried to brush it off. “I’m Roxy Murphy, from WVOI Channel 5 News in Bangor. I’m hoping to get some intel on the body found near the quarry this morning, interview some people for our noon news. And, you are?” 

“Officer Clive Wilson.” 

“Pleasure,” Roxy smiled. “I’m here about the murder of seven-year-old Stacy Gould. I understand she went missing 10 days ago from her home and the remains were discovered this morning. Can you give us any details regarding what happened?” 

The policeman paused for a moment as he watched Arielle get her camera ready for his closeup. 

“All we know now is that we have been able to identify the body of Stacy Gould. The cause of death has yet to be determined and our forensics team is looking into this as we try to give the family some answers.” 

“Sir, are there any suspects in this murder? Do you have any leads as to how this girl’s body ended up so far away from her home?” 

“We can’t make any comment, but we are looking into this investigation very seriously and working to bring her killer to justice.” 

“Thank you, sir, greatly appreciated.” Roxy extended her hand to shake as Arielle shut the camera off. 

Back in the van, Arielle and Roxy replayed the small clip of what was recorded of the police officer. The decided to keep everything, including some of the background shots of the forest with the other officer in the distance. 

“We’ll definitely need to get a couple of neighbors and their perspectives,” said Arielle. “And I think we should get a couple of shots of the town also, kind of set the story up as this wholesome small town in Maine. You know, play into the heartstrings of the viewers.” 

“You don’t think that’s a bit much?” asked Roxy. 

“If you’re gonna sell this story, might as well go for the jugular.” 

Roxy nodded. “You know I want what’s best for you, right?” 

Arielle looked down and nodded. 

“I’m sorry that I laid it all out for you but I just…I didn’t want to leave without telling you how I really felt. You know I think you have an eye for seeing the bigger picture. You always do whenever we have a story together. I mean, if it wasn’t for your direction, I wouldn’t be this far in my career. I just wish you could see what I see in you.” 

“I get it,” Arielle sighed. “I just wished I had done more to make you happy, that’s all. It’s hard to come into work and not be able to work with you the way we used to.” 

“You know that I will always love and cherish you,” Roxy reached out to pat her on the back. “We just didn’t work out. And I hope that someone does make you happy.”

“Yeah, me too.” 

Roxy went in the van while Arielle rewound the footage and packed the camera in the back. As she closed the back, she heard the faint voice of a little boy laughing. 

“Hello?” 

She heard it again. To her better judgment, Arielle followed it down into the woods. It was starting to rain again and the only protection she had was her hoodie to keep her hair from getting wet. She nearly slipped on the wet patch of grass when she saw a little boy in a yellow raincoat with green slickers running down the forest. She leaned against the tree to see where the little boy was going as he ran away from her.

“Hey? Hey!” Arielle shouted, sliding down slowly to get close. “Where do you think you’re going, kid?” 

The little boy stopped running. Arielle walked slowly down the slope as she tried to get closer to the little boy. She nearly slipped a second time as she reached her hand out to reveal the little boy’s face green and decaying. His smile revealed a set of rotting teeth as his eyes were a mix of blue and yellow. The most terrifying of it all was the little boy’s missing right arm that dripped with blood. 

Arielle screamed, as she tried to run out of the woods, falling face down into the ground. She crawled back up and ran as fast as she could, never looking back. As soon as she was out, she sprinted across the way and into the van. 

“There you are!” Roxy cried out. “What were you doing out there?”

Arielle panted, adjusting her seatbelt. “I saw something.” 

“What, an animal?” 

“No, not an animal. I-I don’t know what it was. I thought it might have been a child but now I just…” Arielle stopped and looked straight out the window to see the little boy was standing right in front of van, waving at her with his missing, bloody arm. She blinked and soon he was gone again. Was her mind playing tricks on her? 

“Arielle, what did you see?” 

Arielle looked at Roxy and then back out the window. “Nothing.”


	2. Into the Unknown

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for who have left kudos and have read my first chapter! I hope you all enjoy this new update and let me know what you think!

When Arielle and Roxy arrived back in Bangor, the story was to air in a half an hour. Roxy managed to get some perspectives from neighbors who expressed deep concern and worry over the tragic murder of Stacy Gould. All while Roxy managed to be personable and understanding with the folks of Derry, Arielle couldn’t help but wonder if something was off with the community. They spoke about feeling sorry for this little girl but something about their eyes told another story. Like this wasn’t something to be so alarmed about. The whole situation made Arielle feel uncomfortable. She couldn’t help but notice this as she and Roxy showed the final edit for Justin. 

“This is good,” Justin complimented. “This is really good. I knew I could count on you two. I like this a lot.”

Roxy grinned as Arielle watched the tape finish off. There was nothing wrong with Roxy in the edit. Arielle thought she looked fantastic, graceful, and poised. She made this story hers. All Arielle had to do was point the camera in the right direction. 

“We air this 20 after the hour,” Justin announced. “Roxy, I’m gonna need you on in 15. Arielle, you’re on Camera C. Ladies, we’ve got a lot of work to do before we go live!” 

The story went live at exactly 12:22p. Justin watched the broadcast from the newsroom as he normally did. Roxy looked intense reporting the story and Arielle couldn’t help but feel proud of her. But then she got sad knowing that they wouldn’t have very many moments like this together for much longer. Arielle was really losing Roxy, not just romantically, and it sucked. She wondered if there was a point of staying at WVOI if there was no other reporter she could really click with. 

A few hours later, Arielle was waiting in the car outside of Bangor High School. Volleyball practice for her cousin Kathleen was running late and there were two other parents that were waiting for the kid to be released. She had almost forgot until Roxy mentioned something while they were going through her reel. Although Roxy had already handed in her two weeks’ notice, she wanted to continually update her news reel before she left for Buffalo. Justin was stunned when Roxy made the announcement, but he understood why she wanted to move on. He congratulated her on her new opportunity in Buffalo and wished her well. 

“You can’t wait until the end of the month though?” Arielle asked Roxy when they were in the editing room. 

“Nah,” Roxy shook her head. “The station manager at WKBW really wants me to start as soon as possible. Wasn’t easy telling Justin. I think deep down he wanted to fight for me to stay but…I just think this is my time.” 

“You really are leaving,” Arielle sighed.

Roxy looked at Arielle and shook her head. “Don’t do this to me. You’re gonna be fine without me.” 

“Yeah, but where am I going to find someone who is so talented and passionate about what you do? I mean, not to get corny, but when I saw you report on that murder in Derry, I really felt something.” 

Roxy smiled weakly. “I gotta go my own way. You will too.” 

Arielle couldn’t help but think about what Roxy said, going her own way. Arielle wasn’t even sure she had a way to go. She knew she wanted to be a director but after going through the ringer of working all different camera jobs to pay her dues, she wondered if the dream was still worth it. After all, everything she’d been filming since college had been for work. Sure, she had saved everything she filmed, but Arielle had no idea where to begin. She tinkered with the idea of writing and directing something, but she could never come up with an idea on what the story should be about. So, she was back to square one, wondering if she would really work at WVOI for the rest of her life and die with her dreams. 

The car door slammed as Kathleen threw her gym back in the back seat and huffed. Arielle glanced sideways at her frustrated 16-year-old cousin and started the car. 

“How was practice?” Arielle asked, trying to make conversation. 

Kathleen didn’t say anything. She fastened her seatbelt and was on her phone. Arielle shook her head. When Kathleen was younger, she used to follow Arielle around like a little puppy dog, always wanting her big cousin to play with her. Now her whole world revolved around volleyball and student council. Sometimes she wondered if Kathleen saw her as the occasional chauffer. But then again, she tried not to take her cousin’s teenage behavior so personally, for she was that young not too long ago. 

“Was practice good?” Arielle tried asking again.

“Fine,” Kathleen replied. 

“How was school?”

“School’s fine. Boring.” 

Arielle tapped on the steering wheel, trying to think of other things to talk about. 

“You must be excited for Homecoming next week…” 

“Ugh, not really,” Kathleen rolled her eyes.   
“But you’re gonna go with friends, right? I mean, you can’t just be planning it without-”

“Arielle, no offense, but I really don’t want to talk about Homecoming right now.” 

With that, they were silent for the rest of the ride home. So much for bonding, Arielle thought to herself. 

Jodie bought takeout from the Chinese place down the street for dinner when Arielle and Kathleen got home. They could smell the fried rice when they walked through the door. Arielle hoped there were some eggrolls left. Joining Jodie at the kitchen table, the three women sat eating their Chinese and talked about their day. 

“Roxy and I went out to cover a big story this morning,” Arielle said between mouthfuls of chicken chow mein. “Might be the biggest one I’ve gotten to shoot in two years.” 

“Something bigger than rain?” asked Kathleen sarcastically. 

“Kathleen!” Jodie shushed. 

“We went out of town,” said Arielle. “Went to this place called Derry. It’s about a half hour from here. Kinda weird.” 

“You said Derry?” 

“Yeah.” 

Jodie looked down at her moo shoo pork and muttered something under her breath. 

“This little girl, seven years old, disappeared from her house 10 days ago and this morning, a jogger finds her body in the forest and no one has any clue how this could have happened. Neighbors can make of it but…there was something about the town. Like something just seemed off about it.” 

“Did you see the body?” Kathleen asked. 

“I don’t think that’s something Arielle wants to talk about,” said Jodie. 

“No body was there when Roxy and I interviewed the police,” Arielle replied. “But her arm was ripped off. Like some sort of animal ate her…” 

“Arielle, can we please not talk about this at dinner?” Jodie asked, her eyes shifting across the room. She smiled with her teeth and turned to Kathleen. “Sweetie, what did coach have to say to the team?” 

Kathleen shrugged. “Not much. Just the same as last practice.” 

“How’s the planning coming along for Homecoming?” 

“Fine. Can’t wait for it to be done though.” 

“I’m sure it’ll be wonderful. You’re going to have so much fun and look so pretty…” 

“I’m not going.” 

Jodie was stunned. “But I thought you and your friends were going together?” 

“There’s been a change of plans and I don’t want to talk about it now!” 

Kathleen dropped her fork and got up from the table. Stomping away from the kitchen and to her room, she slammed her bedroom door and locked the door. Not too long after, Jodie and Arielle could hear her blasting Motion City Soundtrack. Jodie shook her head and took Kathleen’s plate up to the sink. 

“I don’t know what got her upset, Jodie,” said Arielle, clearing off the rest of the table. “She wasn’t much for conversation when I picked her up.” 

“She puts way too much pressure on herself,” said Jodie. “If it weren’t for her dad being such a hardass, she wouldn’t be so wound up.” 

“You and Will both know she’s a good kid. She works hard but I do agree, Will can be a bit much on her. It’s nothing you did wrong. You’re a good mom to her.” 

Jodie smiled and gave Arielle a quick side hug. “You know how grateful I am to have you around to help. With everything that you do for Kathleen and myself. If I hadn’t taken you in after the divorce, I don’t know how I would’ve managed to keep everything under control.” 

It was a nice reminder for Arielle. Sometimes she felt she was a burden for living with them. But Jodie was more than welcoming into her home after Arielle moved out of Portland more than two years ago. With her dad out in London, Jodie and Kathleen were really the only family she had left. 

After dinner, Arielle queued up her Netflix and she and Jodie watched The Great British Baking Show while drinking a glass of red Moscato. Meanwhile, the music had stopped, and Kathleen was getting ready for bed. Arielle asked if she wanted to join them, but Kathleen declined, saying she needed to finish reading Catcher in the Rye for a quiz tomorrow. 

“Probably for the best,” her aunt mused. “She never could get into English like you and your dad did.”   
Arielle smirked, sipping her wine. She paused, thinking about her dad in high school, which lead her to think about her mom. Arielle never met her mom. All she knew was that she was born in a small town in Maine and she died when Arielle was a baby. Her father raised her by himself and liked to think he did a fantastic job as a single dad. Still, how was it that after all this time, Arielle knew next to nothing about her mother? She knew the subject was much too painful for her dad to talk about, but what did Jodie know? After all, she was the one who helped her dad raise her, stepping into that mother figure role. 

“Jodie,” Arielle paused. “Did I make you uncomfortable when I was talking about that story Roxy and I covered?” 

Jodie nearly spat her drink up, but swallowed it down hard. “No,” she coughed. “No, it’s just…the thought of that poor little girl. It’s so tragic, you know?” 

“It is,” Arielle agreed. “It was strange being there. I could tell that something was off about that town, but I couldn’t put my finger on it...” 

“Your mother was from there.” 

Arielle was stunned. In all the years, no one ever talked about her mother to much extent, especially who she was before she died. The specifics were very vague: Her mother was named Shannon, she grew up in a small town in Maine, she had long auburn hair, and she died at 27 after Arielle was born. When Arielle was younger, she tried to ask her dad about mom, but he would get upset or try to change the subject. Soon, Arielle gave up and just left the thought of her mom a mystery. It wasn’t that she didn’t care to know more, but she felt that if no one was going tell her anything, she’d create an illusion of her that no one could take away. 

“Shannon was from Derry. Such a god-awful place, nonetheless. I told your father they should’ve never stayed there but he didn’t listen and well…” Jodie took a sip of her wine and paused. “Your father was in shock when your mother died. We’ve tried to talk but he just freezes up each time. Like something happened to her that traumatized him for life.” 

Arielle nodded. It wasn’t exactly the answers she wanted about her mother but at least she knew something more. But why hide where she came from? Was Derry really all that bad? She still couldn’t shake the unpleasant feeling she felt when she went there this afternoon. Not to mention that creepy little boy…if that was a boy. 

“She was an unusual woman, I have to say,” said Jodie quietly. “Like she was flung out of space.” 

 

Arielle didn’t sleep well that night. She tossed and turned for hours and had a very vivid dream about the little boy she saw in Derry, except he was alive in her dream. It was pouring out as she walked down the streets. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the little boy and he was crouched down looking in the sewer. She tried to call out to him, but he didn’t hear her. As she got closer to him, he cried out in pain. She ran to help him but when she approached him, his arm had been ripped off as he tried to crawl away from the sewer opening. She reached her hand out to grab him but when she did, she was dragged away along with the little boy. The nightmare snapped her back up and she lay there with her eyes open until she could go back to bed. 

Luckily, she didn’t have to come into work the next day. With her day off, Arielle slept in for an hour and felt somewhat refreshed. She spent half of the morning cleaning out her closet and organizing her clothes in her dresser. Keeping herself busy should’ve pushed away all those thoughts and dreams from yesterday but being alone with own thoughts just made things worse. Not to mention, there was the revelation of her own connection with Derry. Something in her head told her that the only way she was going to get any answers was to go back to that godforsaken place and find them herself. 

The drive to Derry was an uneventful ride for Arielle, but at least she was driving a reliable car in better weather conditions. Florence + the Machine was playing in the car, which took her mind off her bad dream for a while. She tried to imagine herself living in the world of Florence Welch, so dreamy and atmospheric. She thought of songs that she could make music videos or films out of and it made her happy. There were all these ideas and yet, nothing has come into fruition. 

Once she passed Derry’s welcome sign, her hands began to shake, and Arielle pulled over to the side of the road. With her hands still shaking, she looked up at the sky and saw it was looking greyer than when she left the house. There was a bitter chill in the air as she zipped her hoodie up. The road was deserted when she went for a stroll through the woods. She wondered if any outsiders ever passed through the town very often. Probably why she threw off a lot of people yesterday when Roxy went to interview the townspeople on the murder of Stacy Gould. 

Arielle ventured deeper into the woods until she stopped at a ledge. The jump down into the quarry was very steep when she looked down. She could imagine kids probably double dog dared each other to jump off the ledge but what were the chances they would make it without a broken bone? Arielle would be way too chicken to do it in her younger days. Now? She was probably still unlikely. 

“Hello?” 

Arielle turned around when she heard the little boy’s voice, the same one from yesterday. She walked around in a circle, trying to find where he was hiding. 

“Hello?” Arielle called out. “I know you’re here. Who are you?” 

She heard giggling and followed it right to the little boy in the yellow raincoat. He turned his head to Arielle and smiled. It was still as creepy as it was yesterday. She kept her distance from. 

“Aren’t you going to help me?” he asked her innocently. 

Arielle said nothing, backing away from the boy. This all had to be some sort of fever dream. 

“I’ve lost my boat and Bill’s going to kill me,” he said sadly. “Will you help me look for it?” 

“The fuck?” Arielle muttered under her breath. 

“It was too fast. I tried to get my boat back, but I had an accident…” 

The little boy showed her his bloody arm, a puddle of blood forming on the ground. Arielle gasped. 

“But if you come with me, you’ll float too!” The little boy smiled, his face turning sinister. 

Arielle slowly backed away as the little boy walked towards her repeating, “You’ll float too.” His pearly whites were now blackened with grime between his gums and his eyes turned a yellowish color. His skin looked grey, like a decaying corpse and he began to scream at her. She had no clue where she was backing up and when she turned around, she saw the ledge. The boy just kept getting closer and closer to her. Arielle’s hands wouldn’t stop shaking and she didn’t want to die in the hands of this zombie boy in the woods. She looked back at the ledge and then back at the little boy. He smiled at her and then began to run towards her. Within an instance, she ran the other way. Not once did she look back as she closed her eyes and jumped into the unknown.


	3. Lost in Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It took me a while but the new chapter is here! I really hope I did alright with Bill and his stuttering. I'm terribly sorry for the spelling errors also. I hope you all enjoy!

Arielle used to love being in the water when she was younger. Her father signed her up for swimming lessons and her biggest problem was not wanting to get out of the water. When she was invited to pool parties, she used to freak her friends out over how long she was able to hold her breath underwater. In high school, she was on the swim team. She could’ve gone away on the west coast with a scholarship, been an Olympic athlete, but Arielle just liked to swim for fun. It had been over a year since she’d been in the water but when she jumped into the quarry, it felt like the first time all over again. 

Arielle could feel her body sinking lower and lower in the water. She didn’t know how long she was sinking but she also felt okay with this. Maybe this was death and she was swimming to her afterlife? She swam up for air just before her feet could touch the bottom. Arielle let out the biggest gasp of air when she came up, coughing up phlegm as she rubbed her eyes. Arielle looked around and was befuddled by how brightly the sun was shining. She wondered just how far off she dove into the quarry, away from Derry. 

Once she reached land, Arielle was absolutely drenched from head to toe. There was no way she was going to go into town soaking wet, what would the townspeople think of her? She had nothing she could dry off with and the sun was starting to really beat down on her. She looked around and there was no one to be found, almost like she had been washed away to a deserted place. With her wet clothes left out to dry, Arielle lay down on a rock in her tank top and underwear to warm herself up. She felt her skin starting to warm as she flipped herself over to dry off her back. She wondered where she was and how she ended up so far away. One minute she was running from the zombie boy and the next she was sinking to the bottom. Talk about an unusual turn of events. 

An hour had passed, or at least, Arielle thought it had been an hour. She didn’t have her phone in her pocket. She had her wallet at least. All her clothes were dry for the most part. She slipped back into her jeans and her Foo Fighters t-shirt, tying her hoodie around her waist. Her shoes were still wet, but it was no worry since her socks were dry. Her long, auburn hair was a frizzy mess, so she just pulled it into a low ponytail, calling it a day. She just needed to get back to her car or at least figure out where she was. 

Arielle wandered through the woods, hoping that she would find her car. She searched high and low, crossing through any unbeaten path to get herself out of the woods, but it proved to be fruitless. She was also starting to get very hot and wearing jeans didn’t help her cause. When she gave up on looking for her car, she figured her next best bet was to ask someone where she was. She silently cursed herself for not having her phone on her but that was the least of her worries. At least she still had her keys in her pocket but what good were keys without a car? 

Eventually, Arielle found a well beaten path that led her to the town square. Emerging from the woods, the first thing that she saw was a giant statue of Paul Bunyan with his blue ox. It was such a sight to behold. But Paul Bunyan was an odd choice for a statue to be erected for. She walked around aimlessly, passing by all the mom and pop stores. She couldn’t help but notice something was off, like the town was trapped in an alternate dimension where it only exists in the 1980’s. For instance, the movie theater she walked by was playing Batman with Michael Keaton. At first, she thought that it was a special screening, but she looked at the other movie on the marque and it was Lethal Weapon 2. She walked around downtown some more and noticed the Derry drugstore across the way from the movie theater. It was a strange thing to discover, but now that she knew where she was, she hoped to find a place where she could use a phone. For some reason, Arielle had a sneaking suspicion that no one used cell phones, like maybe the town had a ban on them or something to make it more “community-friendly”.

Arielle grew tired of walking around downtown and was starting to get hungry. She stopped in a diner and ordered herself a cheeseburger. It tasted bland, but the waiter seemed like a nice boy and it was more than enough to satisfy her. She tipped him generously and asked him if it was alright to use their payphone. When she tried to call her aunt’s cell, there was no dial tone. She tried the house phone and there was no luck either. She thought to call Roxy but if she couldn’t reach her aunt, what luck was going to come of calling Roxy? 

“Hey,” she called over to the waiter. “I think your phone is broken.” 

“Weird,” he replied, checking the phone. “Was working a few hours ago.” 

“You sure? I got no signal trying to call my aunt and no luck calling her cell either.” 

“Your aunt must work on Wall Street to have a cell phone. Not even our mayor has a cell phone.” 

“No one here has a cell phone?” She couldn’t believe her luck with this town. So archaic. “What is this 1985?” 

“Ma’am, this is 1989. What makes you think any of us would have a cell phone?” 

Arielle backed up to the door and turned to see that the calendar was correct. June 1989. How did she get here? Was this all a dream? She wondered if she landed in a coma when she jumped in the water. But how did this happen? 

Arielle ran out of diner and down the street, speeding out of the downtown area and into the neighborhoods. She didn’t know where she was running to. She had no idea how she was going to get home. Running away seemed like such a good idea, until she ran into a silver bike and fell on the driveway. 

“Shit!” Arielle cursed, trying to life the bike off her foot. It was heavier than she thought it was. Just then, a boy came running towards her from his garage, helping Arielle with the bike. 

“Suh-sorry miss,” he apologized, “Are you alright?” 

“I’m fine,” Arielle tried to shake it off, “I’m just clumsy is all.” 

“I sw-swear, I didn’t mean to. I hope you’re o-okay.”

“I’m alright kid. My dad would tell me to stop leaving my toys out on the driveway when I was younger. Luckily I’m still in one piece.” 

He stared at her intensely for a moment as she dusted herself off. 

“What’s wrong?” 

“Nuh-nothing,” he replied, “y-you look like someone I knew. Like my old babysitter, Sh-Sh-Shannon. Shannon Riphorn.” 

Arielle gasped. It couldn’t have been the same Shannon that was her mother, but then again, how many other Shannon Riphorns were there in the greater Bangor area? First the time traveling and now this kid? 

“What’s wrong?” he asked. 

“You know my mother?” she asked quietly. 

“I’m sorry?” 

“My mother’s name was Shannon Riphorn and she grew up here. I drove out here looking for her but then I…it doesn’t matter what happened after that. Kid, do you know where my mom is? When did you last see Shannon?” 

“Bill.” 

“What?” 

“My name’s Bill. I-I don’t know when I last suh-saw her but sh-she was my buh-buh-babysitter. She moved out a couple of years ago and got married. She was here not too long ago and she had a baby with her. It was a girl and her name was-” 

“Arielle.” 

Bill didn’t say a word. 

“Her name’s Arielle. I know this because, well, I am her daughter. From the future.” 

Arielle smiled sheepishly, wondering if this admission had blown this kid’s mind or if he was going to run into the house to call the police. He looked her up and down suspiciously, circling around her twice. He then ran inside the house, slamming the door. She had a sneaking suspicion that was going to happen. Who would be crazy enough to believe that she was from the future. Arielle was on her way out of the driveway when Bill called out to her with something in his hand. 

He handed her a newspaper article, dated April 8th, 1989, in which the article detailed a story on a young woman who was found dead on Neibolt Street, her arm ripped from her socket as she bled to death. The woman was identified as Shannon Riphorn-Martin. Police were looking to investigate what had happened, though it appeared that she was attacked by an animal, according to forensics. At the end of the article, it mentioned that her only living family was her husband, Harry Martin and a baby girl named Arielle. Bill handed her a picture when Arielle finished reading the article. Her mother was standing in front of the Paul Bunyan statue with two boys in front of her. One of them was Bill and the other boy looked very familiar. He wasn’t wearing a yellow slicker and green rubber boots, but his smile looked familiar. She could see that zombie boy that chased her into the water quarry so vividly. 

“Bill, who’s this other boy that’s standing with you,” Arielle asked, pointing to the small boy.

“That one?” he asked. “Juh-juh-Georgie. My little brother.” 

“Is he still around?” 

“No. He’s missing. I’ve been trying to find him s-s-since October.” 

“October of last year?”

“He was playing with his boat and then…” 

“He lost it in the sewer.” 

Bill was silent. 

“Your brother lost his boat in the sewer,” Arielle continued. “And he tried to get it, but something got to him first…I know.” 

“How?” 

“I’ve seen him in my dreams and I saw him in the woods this morning. He didn’t look like himself. Like a zombie version of himself. I don’t know why I was seeing him but I’m starting to think that things are starting to make some sense. Still can’t figure out how to get back into my own time but that’s alright, I guess.” 

“How did you get to my time?” 

“I jumped in the quarry when I was being chased by your brother. Something in the water must have transported me here. I don’t know how else to explain it without sounding like I’m crazy.” 

“But you saw him?”

Arielle nodded. “I know what I saw. Do you believe me?” 

Bill nodded. 

“For real?” 

“Will you help me?” 

“With what? Finding your brother?” 

“I still think he’s out there.” 

“And you believe everything I’ve told you?” 

Bill paused for a moment. “If you help me find juh-juh-Georgie, we can find out what happened to sh-sh-Shannon.” 

“What really happened to her…” Arielle looked up at the sky and saw that it was starting to get darker, like a storm was coming. “There has to be connection to all of this.”


	4. Connecting the Dots

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Thanks for being so patient with me on my next chapter. I do apologize if it is a bit short. I promise this next chapter will make it up!!

Bill Denbrough had just gotten out of school and was spending his summer days with his friends. Together, they would ride their bikes all over town, go to the arcade, see a movie, all while avoiding the terror of the local bullies. Bill was a sweet boy who cared deeply for his friends and his younger brother. He spent a lot of time trying to figure out what happened the day his younger brother disappeared. He and his friends would ride down to the Barrens to find clues, hoping to find something on Georgie's whereabouts. Today, Bill and his friends made an interesting discovery. 

"This girl Buh-Betty Ripsom went missing," Bill told Arielle. "And we found one of her shoes with her name written inside. Just the other day her mom was waiting for her outside of sc-sc-school to see if she'd come back for the last day." 

"Has the police done anything to help?" Arielle asked, looking through Bill's music collection. 

"There's a curfew," Bill replied with a shrug. "People pretend to care but I don't think any of the adults really do." 

Bill's comment made Arielle feel uneasy. "Have there been any other disappearances or murders since my mom's and Georgie's?"

"A couple of kids. It's the same thing each time, a k-k-kid goes missing and people c-c-care for a while before it becomes old news, until the next one..." 

"Bill, that's not normal. I mean, shit, I was here yesterday on assignment for this girl Stacy Gould and-" 

"What kind of assignment?"

"I'm a camera operator for WVOI in Bangor. We did a story yesterday on this girl Stacy Gould, who was found with an arm torn off in the forest and the rest of her body located near the quarry. 10 years old and she was missing for 10 days, only to be found dead. But looking at those policemen and getting their input on the story, I just felt...sick." 

Bill sat there silently on his bed. 

Arielle sighed. "Do you ever get a sneaking suspicion that there's more to what's happened than what we're told? Like with what happened to my mom, for example. You're out there searching for answers as to what happened to Georgie but don't you think that there's a connection? And what about those kids you mentioned? Are they going missing in the same place that Georgie went?" 

"Is that why y-y-you're here?" Bill asked. "To find those answers?" 

"Maybe. If I have to stay here forever, it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. 1989 is better than 2016 so far." 

"What's the future like?" 

"It's so bright you gotta wear sunglasses," Arielle quipped. "But in all seriousness, the future is alright. I mean, technology has made so many advancements, medicine is better than before, but the world is still crappy, so if you really look at it, it's kind of a draw on how you want to look at the future." 

"What's a f-f-foo fighter?" 

"Huh?" 

Bill pointed at Arielle's shirt, almost forgetting her clothes weren't exactly from the right decade. She wondered if anyone else thought that her shirt was supposed to say "food fighters." 

"Oh!" Arielle laughed. "Foo Fighters are a band. They're the best band to come out of the 90's, next to Nirvana. Can't wait til you get to hear them. Wish I had some music from my time I could give you to listen." She had rearranged the last album in alphabetical order. "You've got some pretty decent taste yourself." 

"Th-th-thanks," said Bill. "Richie thinks my music is lame. Says the guy who thinks Batman is a load of garbage." 

"Wait til you guys see the other Batman movies we have in the future," Arielle smiled. 

Bill smiled back but it faded when he felt a raindrop hit the tip of his nose. Arielle and bill looked up and saw that his ceiling was leaking. 

"Not again," Bill grumbled as he went to go fetch a pail from the other room. Arielle looked out Bill's window and saw that the rain was starting to come down harder. She looked at the alarm clock to her left. It was four-thirty in the afternoon. How long had she been in 1989 Derry? Did the number of hours spent in 1989 Derry equal the number of hours away from 2016 Derry? Maybe time was calculated in a different way with time traveling but Arielle didn't know as this was her first time time traveling. For all she knew, she was probably gone for two days. Peering through the window, Arielle noticed a little boy in a yellow slicker chasing after a piece of paper. It wasn't until she heard him call after the boat that she realized Georgie was out there in the rain. 

"Oh shit," Arielle whispered. She ran out of Bill's room, colliding with him as the pail went flying out of his hands. She stumbled back up as Bill collected the pail. 

"Wh-wh-where are you going?" Bill asked as Arielle ran down the stairs. 

"I saw him!" she exclaimed from the bottom step. "I saw your brother outside!" 

"I'm coming with you!" 

Before Arielle could stop him, Bill was running down the stairs to get his rain coat. Thoughts of panic were racing in her head. There was no way she could let Bill go out there with her to find Georgie. What if this was what her dream was trying to tell her last night? She could be directly responsible for the death of another kid. Time traveling was a bitch...

"I can't let you go out there with me," said Arielle. 

"But I have to save my brother!" 

"No! Bill, he is not who is appears to be. I can't let you go out there and have something happen to you. What if you got hurt?"

Bill frowned, knowing that Arielle was right to concern about his safety. He ran back up the stairs to grab something from his room. As Arielle was putting her hoodie back on, Bill came back with a small souvenir. 

"Here," he said. "I hope this makes it back with you."

Arielle looked at the cassette and smiled. Toto's IV. Bill must have noticed her eyeing it while she was organizing his music collection earlier. She put it in her jean pocket, where it would be safe and sound on her journey home. 

"Wh-wh-where can I find you when you come back?" Bill asked. 

"What makes you think I'll come back?" Arielle asked. 

"I just have a feeling." 

Arielle paused. "You can find me in quarry. That's how I got here in the first place. I don't know when I'll be back but if you really think that this won't be the last time, maybe I'll try to come back in a week." 

"I'll come find you." 

Arielle nodded. With that, she put up her hood and made her way into the rain. As she started to run, she turned to look at Bill's house one last time. He was standing in front of the doorway, watching Arielle go out to find his brother. With one last wave, she made her trek out to the woods.

After going down every street, it seemed that Arielle was going in circles. She was starting to wonder if her mind was playing tricks on her, just to lure her back to her own time. So she backtracked and went in a different direction, until she found the woods. The rain was starting to ease up but the further she went in the woods, the more it felt as if the trees were closing in on her. Soon she was walking around in circles until she heard Georgie's giggling. Arielle turned to see where it was coming from. Georgie was nowhere to be seen, but she could see the drop off point was straight ahead. He was hiding somewhere, but where?

"Georgie!" Arielle called out. "Georgie, where are you?" 

Emerging out of the woods, Arielle found herself right where she had started before jumping into 1989. She walked over to the ledge, looking down at the drop off. She didn't realize how far of a jump it was. She was startled by the giggling when she turned to see Georgie standing there with his yellow slicker and his arm dripping with blood. Arielle had nothing to protect herself with, unless she could chuck the cassette tape at the kid. While he looked as if he meant no harm, she was not to be fooled by his innocent smile. She was certain that Georgie was going to turn on her.

"Where's Bill?" Georgie asked. 

"Bill's not here," Arielle answered softly. 

"I thought Bill was looking for me. I tried to stop it, but it was too fast." 

Georgie looked defeated. The poor kid loses his boat and he's afraid of how upset his older brother would be. She wanted to tell him that it was going to be alright, but she stopped herself from coming towards him. This wasn't real. None of this was real. 

"You can't save him," said Georgie. 

"What?" 

"That's what she tried to do. She tried to save everyone but she couldn't. She doesn't float like the rest of us, but if you and Bill come with me, you'll float too!" 

Arielle watched in horror as Georgie's eyes change from blue to yellow, his skin turning grey, and black goo oozing out of his mouth. She covered her ears and closed her eyes, trying to drown out Georgie's screams. Louder and louder, he chanted, "You'll float too!" What did it mean? It felt like it was never going to end. She could feel her head spinning as Georgie got louder, despite standing so still. It was almost like he was screaming in her face, until he wasn't. Arielle opened her eyes and Georgie was gone. She had no clue where he went or how far off he was but for a brief moment, Arielle was able to breathe a sigh of relief as she looked down at the quarry. 

"You'll float too!" 

She felt that push. It was a lot harder than a six-year-old would be able to exert that much force, but she felt that. The little shithead. As fell further, Arielle didn't scream once. It was as if time seemed to slow down the closer she got to the water. It wasn't until she belly flopped into the quarry and sank to the bottom. For a moment, she couldn't move. Was this death? She opened her eyes and for a brief moment, she thought she saw Bill, with what looked to be his friends, reaching his hand out to her. It was that jolt of adrenaline that made her swim up for air. When she came up, there was no one there for her. The rain had stopped and she was alone once again. Whether she made it back to 2016 successfully was yet to be determined, as she swam to shore. Rather than wait to dry off, Arielle made her way out of the woods to try to find her car. Although she was quite cold coming out of the water, she was happy to find her car after 10 minutes of searching. It was a sign that her first experience with time traveling was a success, minus the whole demon kid part. She peered through the car window to find that her phone was also where she left it. When she checked the time, she was surprised to find that she had only an hour had passed by. It felt like longer, but at least she was done for the day. When she got home, Arielle collapsed on her bed and stared up at her ceiling for two hours. Today had been a whirlwind of a day. She wasn't entirely sure if everything was some crazy fever dream or not. When she turned over to her side, she felt something hit the side of her leg. Reaching into her jean pocket, she found the cassette tape that Bill gave her before she left. She hoped that it was still in good condition. She could always buy him another one if there was water damage, she thought. When her aunt knocked on her door to come to dinner, Arielle was too tired to come eat. She thought a lot about how Bill was doing. He seemed like a good enough kid but she couldn't imagine how his parents were dealing with the loss of their youngest son.She couldn't begin to fathom how the parents must have been doing. But she also wondered if Bill was going through such great lengths because his parents wanted to be shrouded in their own belief of what happened to Georgie, much like her father. Suddenly, it was starting to hit Arielle that perhaps her Mom, Stacy, Georgie, and Betty weren't all such different cases. The dots were there, but what was the connection? Arielle was determined to figure this, but first, she needed to sleep, and try not to dream about any more demon children.


End file.
